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Teachers and classified staff urge board to reverse 14.4% insurance hike and prioritize classroom staffing
Summary
Employees, parents and union leaders told the Santa Maria Bonita School District board that a proposed 14.4% rise in health premiums would erase recent raises and deepen staffing shortages, and they urged the board to use available funds and COLA increases to protect frontline workers.
Employees, parents and union leaders told the Santa Maria Bonita School District board on June 10 that a proposed 14.4% increase in health insurance premiums would erase recent negotiated raises and undermine staff retention.
At a packed public-comment period, Jennifer Ellsworth, a longtime district employee, said the 14.4% premium jump amounts to “just under $300 a month” and warned that many classified staff would see take-home pay fall below what they need to cover rent, transportation and food. “Please take a rate pass,” she said, urging the board to preserve employee compensation.
Why it matters: Board members and district leaders are preparing the 2026–27 adoption budget at a time of rising costs and an augmented COLA. Speakers said the district must choose whether to apply new revenue to employee compensation and health-care caps or to other priorities. Several commenters also argued that administrative consulting contracts and outside vendors have absorbed funds that could be used for frontline staff.
Employees and union representatives pressed three immediate actions: freeze or mitigate premium increases, use available COLA and reserve funds to shield staff from losses, and prioritize hiring and training for classified positions. Kristen Lohr, president of SMEA, asked the board to “stop throwing money at outside contracts” and said LCAP funds should be used to reduce class sizes and support inclusion.
Parents and staff tied benefits concerns to classroom safety and student services. Angela Woods, a fourth-grade teacher at Jimenez Elementary, told the board that health-care deductions function as a hidden pay cut and urged the board to allocate the state 2.3% COLA structurally to salaries and benefit caps so employees can afford to remain in the district.
Board response and next steps: The board heard requests and took no immediate funding action at the meeting. The district's budget study session—presented later that night—shows next year's adoption budget built on the governor's May Revision, including an augmented 4.31% COLA; board members queried staff about trade-offs between onetime and ongoing spending. The public's request for a rate pass and clearer demonstration of how COLA and reserves could be applied will appear as part of the budget deliberations leading to a June 24 adoption vote.
The district will continue budget discussions at the next meeting; employees asked the board to act before premium deductions take effect so staff financial harm can be avoided.
